Quality of Relationships with After-School Program Staff and Child Developmental Outcomes

Deborah Lowe Vandell, Kim M. Pierce, & Dale Lee

Meetings of the Society for Research in Child Development, Atlanta, GA April 2005

Others have documented linkages between teacher-child (T-C) relationships and children’s school adjustment Birch & Ladd (1997)

Higher T-C conflict in K concurrently associated with less school liking and more school avoidance; T-C closeness in K concurrently associated with higher academic achievement and more school liking

Pianta, Steinberg, & Rollins (1995) Positive T-C relationships in K related to reductions in the likelihood of

retention and referrals for at-risk students Hughes, Cavell, & Jackson (1999)

In a sample of highly aggressive children, positive T-C relationships predicted declines in aggression over a 1-year period

Hamre & Pianta (2001) Relational negativity in K predicted lower math and reading achievement,

fewer positive work habits, and more disciplinary infractions in Grades K-4 controlling for gender, ethnicity, verbal IQ, and prior behavior problems

Birch & Ladd (1998) T-C conflict in K predicted declines in prosocial behaviors and increases in

peer reports of aggression in first grade

Similar relations have been found in younger children who attend child care

Howes & Hamilton (1993)

Older toddlers who experienced a negative shift in the quality of T-C relationships displayed more aggressive behaviors in child care

Younger toddlers who became more secure displayed relative gains in prosocial behaviors

Several processes have been suggested as contributing to these obtained relations Attachment security – Children who are securely attached to their

teachers may feel freer to explore, may be less preoccupied, and may display greater cognitive flexibility

Motivational factors – Children who have more positive relationships with their teachers may like school more and be more attentive to their teachers, which may improve academic performance

Social referents – Children may use teachers’ behaviors as a guide or referent for their own positive (or negative) evaluations of classmates and interactions with classmates

Time and effort allocations – Teachers may expend less time and

effort with students with whom they have conflictual or negative relationships

In this presentation, we extend consideration of adult-child relationships to the related context of after-school programs

Almost 2.5 million children (K-G2) attend after-school programs for 7.5 hr/wk on average (U.S. Department of Education, 2004).

Questions have been raised about the effects of these experiences on academic, social, and behavioral outcomes (see National Research Council, 2002, 2003).

Positive relationships between children and program staff are believed to be important, but there has been little systematic study of effects associated with staff-child relationships Pierce, Hamm, & Vandell (1999)

Staff positivity associated with boys displaying fewer internalizing and externalizing problems at school according to first grade teachers

Staff negativity associated with poorer reading and math grades in boys

Vandell & Pierce (2001) Positive caregiving by staff predicted higher academic grades

and better work habits for boys and girls in Grade 3 Supportive relations with staff also predicted less loneliness and

depressive symptoms in Grade 3

The current study uses data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care to extend the study of staff-child relationships

Sampling Plan and Recruitment 10 sites selected by

competitive review of proposals (scientific merit), not on basis of demography.

All births in 24 study hospitals defined the catchment, which is the “reference population of the study.”

Sampling designed to produce unbiased estimates of effects for the catchment while assuring adequate representation of major socio-demographic niches.

Location of Data Collection Sites

Sample Demographics

1 Month Grade 1 N=1364 N=137

Child gender % boys 51.7 48.9

Child ethnicity % minority 23.6 20.4

Income-to-needs   % poor or near poor 37.9 15.9  Maternal education M years 14.2 15.2

Measures of the Family & School Contexts

Family context

Demographic factors: Family structure, maternal education, child gender

Observed mother-child interaction in Grade 1

School context (Grade 1)

Observed instructional quality in the classroom

Observed emotional quality in the classroom

Measures of the After-School Context Mother reports

After-school hrs/wk

Program staff reports Childrearing beliefs (Schaefer & Edgerton, 1985)

5-point Likert scales Authoritarian beliefs (30 items; alpha = .90 )

Teacher-Child Relationship Scale (Pianta, 1994) 5-point Likert scales Closeness (8 items; alpha = .84) Conflict (7 items; alpha = .85)

Child Developmental Outcomes in Grade 1 Externalizing behavior problems

Mother: Child Behavior Checklist (33 items, alpha = .89) Teacher: Teacher’s Report Form (34 items, alpha = .94)

Social skills: Social Skills Rating System

Mother: 38 items, alpha = .88 Teacher: 30 items, alpha = .93

Academic achievement: Woodcock-Johnson Revised Letter-Word Identification Applied Problems

Academic performance: Mock Report Card Academic grades (6 items, alpha = .93) Work habits (6 items, alpha = .95)

Analytic Plan: Hierarchical Multiple Regressions

Block 1

Boys (1=yes)

Single parent (1=yes)

Maternal education

Mother positive caregiving

Classroom instructional quality

Classroom emotional quality

Prior functioning at 54 months

Block 2

Staff-child conflict

Staff-child closeness

Staff childrearing beliefs

Hours in after-school care

RESULTS

Block 1 Block 2Staff-child

conflictStaff-child closeness

Childrearing beliefs

After-school hours

Adj R2 ∆R2 beta beta beta beta

Externalizing (M) .575*** .032* .179* .035 .007 .065

Externalizing (T) .333*** .092** .357* .049 .025 .028

Social skills (M) .351*** .033 -.088 .102 .130 -.026

Social skills (T) .207*** .045 -.241* -.067 -.053 -.003

WJ letter-word .254*** .063* -.162+ .167* -.034 -.099

WJ applied problems .390*** .049* -.148+ .092 -.141+ -.071

Academic grades .190*** .047 -.108 .180* -.002 -.016

Work habits .153*** .024 -.132 -.010 -.106 .052

Effect Sizes Associated with Staff-Child Conflict

d r

Externalizing (M) .91 .41

Externalizing (T) 1.35 .56

Social skills (T) -.93 -.42

WJ letter word -.57 -.28

WJ applied problems -.44 -.21

Effect Sizes Associated with Staff-Child Closeness

d r

WJ letter-word .54 .26

Academic grades .66 .31

CONCLUSIONS The quality of children’s relationships with after-school program staff

is associated changes in academic, social, and behavioral functioning.

Staff-child closeness predicted relative gains in reading achievement and academic grades. These effects are medium in size, according to Cohen’s rubric. The findings are consistent with other research that has found teacher-child closeness to be associated with gains in academic performance.

Staff-child conflict predicted increases in externalizing problems according to teachers and mothers. These effects were medium to large, according to Cohen’s rubric. These findings are consistent with other research that has found teacher-child conflict to be linked to increased aggression.

Staff-child conflict also predicted decreases in reading and math achievement. This medium-size effect underscores the importance of social relationships for academic outcomes as well as social outcomes.

Limitations

Relatively small sample

Correlational design

Next Steps

Longer term follow-up of the relations between staff-child relationships and child functioning

Identification of strategies to improve staff-child relationships